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A place to learn and reflect

Posted
January 1, 2006

Donors helped to create the McElfresh Library as a gift to orthopaedic surgeons of today and tomorrow

There’s a unique new space tucked away on the University’s West Bank
campus — a library that incorporates a trove of historical medical
books as well as high-speed access to electronic versions of medical
journals and texts.

It’s the McElfresh Orthopaedic Library, a place made possible
through the vision of leaders in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery,
the generosity of many dedicated donors, and the legacy of a beloved
hand surgeon by the name of Ed McElfresh, M.D.

The University of Minnesota has a long and rich history in
orthopaedic surgery that stretches back to the founding of the Medical
School in 1888. In recent years, McElfresh, an orthopaedic faculty
member, carefully documented the department’s illustrious history at
the request of Marc Swiontkowski, M.D., the department’s current
leader. It was a natural extension of McElfresh’s deeply held passion
for history: Over his lifetime, he amassed an extensive collection of
19th- and 20th-century books on the history of medicine and orthopaedic
surgery in particular.

Following his untimely death in August 2000, the history project was
continued by Jim House, M.D., and Karen Thomas, Ph.D., leading to the
publication of A Century of Orthopaedic Heritage: A History of the
University of Minnesota Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, which was
dedicated to McElfresh.

Around the same time, the department relocated to the West Bank
campus — a move that brought more space and direct access to the
Riverside campus of the University of Minnesota Medical Center,
Fairview. But the move also put the department farther from the
University’s biomedical library, located in Diehl Hall.

This confluence of events led House, a hand surgeon and former
interim head of the department, to an innovative idea: What if we
create a new library on the West Bank that incorporates both the
historic McElfresh collection and online access to the latest medical
texts?

House sat down with Swiontkowski to sketch out a shared vision for a
conveniently located library where medical students, faculty, and
practicing physicians could reflect on their profession’s past while
accessing the University’s vast collection of medical volumes.

House had enjoyed a long and close friendship with Ed McElfresh and
his wife, Nancy. When House approached Nancy about the library idea,
she quickly understood the value to current and future physicians.
“It’s a privilege to donate Ed’s books to begin or seed the library’s
collection,” she says.

“Ed frequently spoke of his love of teaching orthopaedic surgery to
residents,” adds Nancy, who is now Nancy McElfresh Sletten. “Lifelong
learning and teaching were his passions. Through these donated books,
in a sense, his teaching continues. We as a family feel a sense of
pride when we see his name on the library and a sense of gratitude
toward the orthopaedic community that has honored Ed in this way.”

House and Swiontkowski then fleshed out the details with leaders
from the University’s Academic Health Center, Fairview, and the
Minnesota Medical Foundation. After some careful planning, a
fund-raising campaign was organized.

Others clearly saw value in the plan. To date, donors have
contributed nearly $235,000 in commitments for the library, including
major gifts from Nancy McElfresh Sletten; the Minnesota Orthopedic
Society; Mark Engasser, M.D.; Steve Kuslich, M.D.; many orthopaedic
alumni, colleagues, and friends; and several orthopaedic device
companies.

The renovated space opened with much fanfare on November 17, 2005.
“We couldn’t be happier or more proud of the finished space,” says
House, who agreed to spearhead the fund-raising campaign.

Swiontkowski agrees. “It’s a real resource for our residents,” he
says. Residents are especially impressed by the fact that they can get
immediate access to digital X-rays of their patients admitted at the
University of Minnesota Medical Center, Fairview. Swiontkowski says
that when this new feature was showcased for students applying to the
Medical School’s residency program, they were wowed.

There are now plans to incorporate instruction on how to most
efficiently utilize the library’s resources into the core curriculum
for orthopaedic surgery students, residents, and faculty. “With this
library, we can teach problem-solving using electronic databases and
tools,” says House.

The library’s McElfresh book collection also provides some historic
perspective. “There’s a huge value in understanding the past,” says
Swiontkowski. By studying medical precedents, the profession can avoid
repeating costly mistakes, he says. “We are a community of scholars
that proceed cautiously toward the new.”

House also points out that orthopaedic surgeons of today can’t
understand where they’re going without respect for where the profession
has been.

“The last 50 years have brought tremendous advancements in
musculoskeletal science and bioscience,” he says. With access to both
the history of orthopaedic surgery and the latest subspecialty
journals, students, residents, and physicians can garner a broader view
of the profession.

And that’s fitting for a library named after a physician who loved
history, books, and technology. “It’s the perfect way to honor Ed’s
memory,” says Swiontkowski.